Critically endangered chicks hatched at West Sussex nature centre

The meerkats may be a bit lonely but the hatching of some critically endangered chicks put smiles on faces at Tilgate Nature Centre.

This little raft of Baer’s pochard chicks have taken to the water, blissfully unaware that their species is so rare it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

They won’t be the only new arrivals at the Nature Centre by the time the lockdown is over.

A passel of goats are due to give birth and a rather sweet wallaby joey made its way into the world last week.

For the babies, the lack of visitors is probably ideal, but the meerkats are missing the crowds – and the attention.

This wallaby joey is among the new arrivals being welcomed at the park in Crawley

A spokesman for Crawley Borough Council said:

"The animals are all well. The meerkats are probably missing visitors the most as they are used to encountering different people every day and receiving extra mealworms during Meet the Meerkat sessions."

Despite the lack of visitors, it’s business as usual for the dozens of species housed across the seven zones in the Nature Centre.

The spokesman said:

"We have tried to keep our feeding and cleaning routines as normal as possible, although we aren’t having to clean windows as often!

"Our animal care staff have been split into two teams, staying in contact via various forms of technology and good old whiteboards.

"Our education team has been working hard to engage with our visitors via social media, which includes a range of educational materials.

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